THAT rare thing in blues guitar spheres - the deft axe-man who doesn't have you checking your watch mid-way through his guitar solos, Ash Grunwald does his thing at Swansea's The Garage, Uplands this Friday, from 7pm.
The dreadlocked, surf-chasing Aussie with the big voice and the ear for Howlin' Wolf headed down the smokestack-lightnin'-and-rolling-and-tumbling route for his debut album, before discovering Tom Waits's Swordfishtrombones and Bone Machine.
So meddling in the junkyard for clattering sounds and electronic embellishments has been this thing for a while now.
But at its heart his is pretty pure, old-style, blues, albeit with a booty-shaking beat and a very Aussie-style, sunny outlook.
He says even though he is keen to create his own musical identity, he likes to keep his musical touchstones close as a reminder of the pillars of the genre.
"I have always believed that the song and the singer communicates the song and when I was coming up it was Howlin' Wolf for me, and Son House, who are both incredible singers.
"Robert Johnson too, had such an amazing voice.
"And I came through that 90's grunge scene when the extended guitar solo had come to an end, after there was so much of that in the 1980s.
"I don't want to criticise anyone, but I think if you are a guitar player and you spend hours and hours honing your craft it can become bit like someone who spends every minute down the gym - he just can't resist ripping his shirt off all the time.
"It can be like that with guitar players and guitar solos.
"If there is a guy playing a long guitar solo in a crowded room the one person who is definitely enjoying the hell out of it is the guy with the guitar."
That said, Ash is hardly a slouch with a Les Paul himself, and his lithe and rootsy sound can hold its own with anyone on the circuit today.
He has two new discs in the can at the moment, with the latest, Gargantua, ploughing a more meat and potatoes furrow than he ever has, albeit a head-turning one.
"I have always stayed away from the guitar, bass and drums format because it has been done so much and I always want to do something new.
"In the same way every time I head in to the studio I intend to record an acoustic album because I think my fans would like it. But then I get there and I start experimenting with production and dub step flavours and electronic sounds. But I figure if I get bored with what I'm doing then the audience will hear it in my music so I have to stay interested."
Welsh singer/songwriter Ryan Davies is among the support acts.
